Reckoning with the Wreckage with Davarian Baldwin and David Stovall

This is the country we live in…no doubt about it: white nationalists well-organized and rising; a fascist in the white house surrounded by his loyal Renfields; a preannounced genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza underway, funded and fueled by our taxes; raging, racialized police violence unchecked; capitalist-induced climate collapse on full display; fragile and anemic democratic institutions on life support; religious authoritarianism on the rise; women’s bodily integrity under sustained assault. The day after the recent election, the 10 richest Americans added $64 billion to their personal wealth, and extreme right-wing para-militaries armed up. The overlapping crises threaten to overwhelm us. We’re joined in conversation with Davarian Baldwin, a leading historian and cultural critic from Trinity College, and David Stovall, engaged scholar and legendary teacher/activist from the University of Illinois at Chicago, to reckon with the wreckage, and to discuss  where we might go from here.

Om Podcasten

“Under the Tree” is a new podcast that focuses on freedom—a complex, layered, dynamic, and often contradictory idea—and takes you on a journey each week to fundamentally reimagine how we can bring freedom and liberation to life in relation to schools and schooling, equality and justice, and learning to live together in peace. Our podcast opens a crawl-space, a fugitive field and firmament where we can both explore our wildest freedom dreams, and organize for a liberating insurgency. "Under the Tree" is a seminar, and it runs the gamut from current events to the arts, from history lessons to scientific inquiries, and from essential readings to frequent guest speakers. We’re in the midst of the largest social uprising in US history—and what better time to dive headfirst into the wreckage, figuring out as we go how to support the rebellion, name it, and work together to realize its most radical possibilities—and to reach its farthest horizons?